Dominick Donnelly

16^th April 2009

Announcement proves that going green will save money and the economy says Cllr. Donnelly

Local Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly has welcomed today’s announcement by the ESB that up to 6,000 jobs and training opportunities are to be created through green projects and initiatives. The ESB confirmed that 3,700 jobs will be created in the areas of wind energy, smart networks and smart metering, electric vehicles, construction and energy servicing.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “Going green saves money and creates jobs. Today’s announcement is proof of this. As an island nation we can use our vast wind and wave resources to power our homes and our cars. In order to do this, we need to install and upgrade our electricity network in a smart way – and this is where many of the jobs announced by the ESB will come from.”

 “The Green Party in Government has taken Irish energy in a new direction. Our initiatives such as smart meters, smart networks, electric cars, renewable energy, green technology and home insulation are bearing fruit. Now we must look at how these jobs can be created and sustained at a local level,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.

Specific projects resulting in the creation of new jobs include:

• The roll-out of Smart Metering and the implementation of ESB’s Smart Networks Strategy which will lead to 1,500 jobs by 2013.

• Novus Modus (ESB’s new energy technology fund) has committed to a five year programme of investment in clean energy and energy efficiency (350 jobs). The fund has just invested €2.5 million in the Cork-based company, Nualight, which is creating up to 60 additional jobs locally.

• Electric vehicles (600 jobs) including the roll-out of the infrastructure to allow electric vehicles to be recharged.

• Working with Sustainable Energy Ireland, ESB will offer free home-energy efficiency surveys to 25,000 householders and subsequent support to allow them implement necessary measures.

• In order to alleviate the current severe shortage of electrical engineers, ESB will finance 50 apprentices each year for the next four years to allow them to achieve a third level engineering degree.  

In addition, ESB will sustain a further 1300 jobs outside the company through ongoing investment programmes in the company’s power generation and networks infrastructure. The company will recruit 250 engineers and 50 other professionals and train 800 apprentices over the next five years, including 400 FAS apprentices who recently lost their jobs and will now be able to complete their craft training, paid for by ESB. 

Cllr. Donnelly concluded: “There’s no denying that times are tough, but with proper planning and investment, we can help kickstart the economy, get people off our doles queues and sustain our energy future, while helping the  environment too.”